And so it begins……

Having been in Vancouver for just over a month prior to Orientation week, I felt fairly comfortable in my new surroundings. In addition, as a result of taking part in the MBA Prep program, I had had the benefit of meeting many of my new classmates. And yet, I still didn’t quite feel “orientated” into the MBA program.

Enter Orientation week….

The first day of Orientation week was nothing if not exciting. Shortly after meeting and greeting my classmates over coffee and then listening to a presentation from the MBA teaching team, I found myself maneuvering through a series of tyres that were suspended 40 feet in air, during which time I had little more than a rope to prevent my fall. This was certainly an exercise in building trust in one’s future classmates.

Later in the week, all new Full Time MBA students were required to meet with their academic period 1 teams, learn about each other’s background and interests and then present our findings, in our teams, to the rest of the class. Although I was used to public speaking in Court in my capacity as a lawyer prior to the MBA, I had not spoken in front of such a large group for quite a few years. It was an intimidating prospect. Fortunately, I was in a team with some pretty interesting and inspiring people and so the task of presenting their respective backgrounds and interests was certainly made easier. We also had the good fortune to be presenting near the end and so had the benefit of listening to a number of other highly entertaining presentations!

Mid way through the week, I attended the MBA Gala Dinner at UBC Golf Club. This was a fantastic evening, which included an opportunity to meet the Dean of the Business School as well as a number of the school’s Professors and Alumni. It was also a good opportunity to enjoy some “free” drinks!

After a number of introductory lectures earlier in the week in subject areas ranging from responsible business to creativity, Orientation ended with a BBQ outside the Sauder building. The BBQ was attended by a number of MBA student’s families, significant others and boyfriends/girlfriends. It was a pleasant and relaxing ending to what otherwise a really busy week.

Now I feel Orientated!